Front opening dishwasher with improved rack assembly



Dec. 30, 1969 KAUFMAN ETAL 3,486,804

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 24, 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 1 IO I fill -37 zoxfi l INVENTORS MELVHJ R. KAUFFMAN $WESLE. SPATTKSON BY 5m THEJR ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1969 M. R, KAUFMAN ET AL 3,486,804

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WIT-H IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 24, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS MELVIN R. KAUFFMAN epwssL Y s. PATT\SON I BY THEN? ATTORNEY Dec; 30; 1969 M. R. KAUFMAN ET L- FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 lea INVENTORS MELVIN R. KAUF'F'MAN ZWESLEY s. PATT\SON BY THEIR ATTQRNEY United States Patent O US. Cl. 312-338 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved rack assembly for a dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having top, bottom, and side walls with an access opening through the front side wall. The rack assembly includes upper and lower open framework dish racks positionable within the en- .closure in a vertically spaced relationship. The lower rack extends over substantially the entire horizontal cross-sectional area of the enclosure when positioned therein and the upper rack is split from front to rear into left and right sections which have a combined cross-sectional area approximating that of the lower rack. Support means are provided in the upper portion of the enclosure for removably supporting the upper rack sections selectively at several different elevations above the lower rack for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of the lower rack and of one another. The support means are arranged such that the left and right upper rack sections can be respectively cantilevered from the enclosure side walls at the left and right sides of the access opening.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is directed to a dishwasher rack assembly forming a further improvement on the invention disclosed in our copending application Ser. No. 665,- 559, filed Sept. 5, 1967, and assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to dishwashing machines of the type having a front opening and racks which move substantially horizontally through that opening, and, more particularly, to an improved rack assembly which provides optimum effectiveness for such machines.

Dishwashing machines often have a washing enclosure with an access opening through the front side wall thereof. Such machines are usually provided with the door hinged at its bottom for pivotal movement from a vertical to a horizontal position to permit access to the washing enclosure. In such machines, there are usually two vertically spaced racks for receiving the articles to be washed. Each of these racks has a cross-sectional area substantially equal to that of the horizontal cross-section of the enclosure and is slidable independently of the other horizontally through the access opening to extend over the open door. It is conventional to form the bottom rack to receive larger dishes and the top rack to receive smaller dishes and glasses. While this conventional arrangement has substantial advantages, it also has the disadvantage that, when a mixed load of dishes is to be inserted into the dishwasher, the operator must move the top rack in and out As indicated in our above-noted copending application, it is desirable to split the upper rack from front to rear into left and right sections, so that the operator can gain access to the lower rack without moving the entire upper rack back into the enclosure, and to provide means for removably supporting the upper rack sections at various selectively adjustable elevations within the enclosure, so that articles of different heights may be accommodated in both the upper and lower racks and so that practically the entire height of all or part of the enclosure can be utilized for washing very large articles by removing one or both of the upper rack sections.

The present invention comprises a dishwasher rack assembly which provides the just-mentioned desirable features, while further providing an arrangement which eliminates support means from the area between the split upper rack sections. With the present invention, the area between the upper rack sections is unobstructed and their elevation adjustment or removal facilitated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improved rack assembly for an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having an access opening formed in its front side wall.

In one presently preferred form, the assembly comprises: (A) a lower rack positionable within the lower portion of the enclosure for substantially horizontal movement through the access opening; (B) an upper rack positionable within the upper portion of the enclosure vertically spaced from the lower rack and split from front t rear into a left section and a right section; and (C) support means in the enclosure for respectively cantilevering the left and right upper rack sections from the enclosure side walls of the left and right of the access opening for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of one another and the lower rack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view, with some of the parts broken away to illustrate details, of a dishwasher incorporating a first form of the improved rack asembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front elevational perspective view of the upper portion of the dishwasher of FIG- URE 1 with the door open and the upper rack sections removed to show details of their support means;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1, showing the right section of the upper rack and its support means extended through the enclosure access opening;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3 with the rack section removed from its support means; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the upper portion of a dishwasher incorporating a second form of the rack assembly of the present invention with the door open.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED, EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE 1 thereof, there is illustrated a front opening automatic dishwasher 10. The dishwasher includes an outer cabinet 11 having a top wall 12, a front wall 13, a rear wall 14 and left and right side walls 15 and 16. The aforementioned walls define therein a washing enclosure 17. The cabinet has an opening 18 in its front wall 13 which serves as an access opening for the admission of articles to and the removal of articles from the washing enclosure 17. This access opening 18 is provided with a closure member or door 19 pivoted at its bottom edge by hinge means 20 to the cabinet front wall 13 adjacent the lower edge of the access opening 18. The door 19 is movable between a substantially vertical position closing the opening 18 and a substantially horizontal position opening the opening 18. The bottom of the Washing enclosure 17 is defined by a bottom wall 21 which is connected in a liquid-tight relationship to the walls 13-16. The bottom wall 21 gradually slopes to a low point 22 near the center of the dishwasher. Disposed below the low point 22 is a sump 23 which may be formed integrally in the bottom wall 21 or which may be a separate element secured to the bottom wall. Disposed below and supported by the bottom wall 21 is a motor-pump assembly 24 which includes an electric motor 25, a pump 26 and an electrically-operated valve 27 (shown in block). The sump 23 and the inlet of the pump 26 are interconnected by a large diameter conduit 28. The conduit 28 is secured to the sump '23 by means of a clamp 29 and to the housing of the pump 26 by means of a clamp 30. The pump has a main outlet 31 comirnunicating with a conduit 32 which in turn communicates with a spray head 33 that is rotatably mounted atop a centrally-bored pedestal 34 formed in the bottom wall 21.

The pump 26 is also provided with a discharge outlet 35 which is controlled by the valve 27 and is connected to the household sewage system (not shown) by suitable conduit means (not shown). The valve 27 includes an element (not shown) within the housing of the pump 26 that is movable between two positions. In one of these positions'the element closes the efiluent discharge outlet 35 and opens the main outlet 31 and, in the other of these positions, closes the main outlet and opens the efiluent discharge outlet. An electrical resistance heating element (not shown) may be provided in the lower portion of the washing enclosure 17 to facilitate drying of articles supported therein upon completion of the normal wash and rinse operations.

An electrically operated fill valve (not shown) is provided to admit water to the washing enclosure 17 and elec tric sequence control means (not shown) of a well-known type is provided for sequentially operating the pump valve 27 and the fill valve.

It should, of course, be understood that all the structure thusfar described may be modified a great deal without seriously affecting the present invention since the structure is substantially conventional and comprises only one illustrated structure with which the present invention is compatible.

Of course, means must be provided within the washing enclosure 17 to support articels or dishes to be washed in a manner wherein the washing action generated by the spray head 33 effectuates cleansing of the articles. With the dishwasher as thus far described, it has been conventional heretofore to provide separate upper and lower racks, each of which constitutes a unitary structure having horizontal dimensions substantially equal to the internal horizontal dimensions of the washing enclosure 17. With this arrangement, the lower rack is provided with rollers which allow it to be withdrawn at least partially from the washing enclosure onto the open door 19 which, upon opening, pivots into horizontal alignment with means supporting the lower rack within the washing enclosure. It also has been conventional to provide a unitary upper rack with a slide mechanism to allow the upper rack to be withdrawn at least partially in a horizontal direction out of the washing enclosure 17. As discussed above, with this conventional arrangement, it is necessary to withdraw the entire unitary upper rack so that the upper rack may be loaded; however when the unitary upper rack is so withdrawn, it significantly interferes with the attempts of the operator to load the lower rack.

The improved rack assembly of the present invention includes a conventional unitary lower rack 36 having a horizontal cross-sectional area substantially equal to that of the washing enclosure 17. The lower rack 36 is provided with rollers 37 on its lower left and right edges. When the lower rack is positioned within the washing enclosure 17, the rollers 37 rest upon horizontal surfaces 38 formed on the interior of the cabinet left and right side Walls 15 and 16, respectively. The surfaces 38 can be formed of suitable pieces of sheet metal, suitably shaped and secured to their respective side walls 15 and 16. The surfaces 38 extend forwardly from the cabinet rear wall 14 and terminate adjacent the access opening 18 in the front of the cabinet wall. The inner face of the door 19 is provided with surfaces or tracks (not shown) which, when the door is pivoted to its open position or in horizontal alignment with the surfaces 38 within the washing enclosure to permit the lower rack 36 to be rolled or slid onto the door 19.

In the form of the present invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1-4, the upper rack is split from front to rear along the center of the washing enclosure 17 and includes a left rack section 40 and a right rack section 41. The upper rack sections 40 and 41 are substantially identical and comprise substantially rectangular open framework racks or baskets, which have a combined horizontal crosssectional area approximately equal to that of the lower rack 36.

In accordance with the present invention, the left and right upper rack sections can be respectively removably cantilevered from the enclosure side walls 15 and 16 selectively at various elevations above the lower rack 36 for substantially horizontal sliding movement in a foreand-aft direction through the access opening 18 independently of one another and of the lower rack 36 by support means located in the upper portion of the washing enclosure 17.

In the form of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES 14, the support means for the upper rack sections 40 and 41 include centrally open, left and right, thick wire frames 42 and 43 and left and right mounting means 44 and 45 for respectively slidably mounting the left and right frames 42 and 43 to the enclosure side walls 15 and 16.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the left and right mounting means 44 and 45 are substantially the same and each includes a pair of horizontally-spaced vertically-arranged substantially C-shaped brackets 46 suitably fastened to the interior of each of the enclosure side walls 15 and 16. As illustrated, the jaws 47 of the brackets 46 extend inwardly into the enclosure 17 and are lined with a plastic bearing material, such as Teflon or the like, to form upper and lower tracks 48.

The tracks 48 on each of the side walls 15, 16 receive a slide member 49 for horizontal sliding movement therein through the access opening 18. Each of the slide members 49 is formed from suitably interconnected structurally strong rods and includes a pair of vertically-spaced rods at its opposite ends which extend horizontally in a direction from the front to the rear of the enclosure to provide rails 50.

Each of the frames 42 and 43 has a generally rectangulagop-like base 51 which is provided with a central opening 52 in which the left and right rack sections 40 and 41 are respectively removably received. Each of the frame bases 51 has an outer edge adjacent one of the enclosure side walls 15 or 16 and an inner edge adjacent the split between the upper rack sections 40 and 41.

The outer edge of the base 51 of each of the frames 42 and 43 has a pair of horizontally-spaced verticallyarranged brackets 53 rigidly attached to it, which are each formed with upper and lower jaw sets 54a and 54b. Each of the, jaw sets 54a and 54b is adapted to be selectively slidably engaged over the rails 50 on the adjacent slide member 49 to provide at least two different vertical positions for each of the frames 42 and 43. As illustrated, the lower end of each of the frame brackets 53 is suitably fastened by welding or other suitable means to the outer edge of the frame base 51 and has its upper end similarly fastened to a brace member .55, which is fixed to and angled upwardly and outwardlyfrom'the inner edge of theframe base. The jaws 54a and 54b are also each preferably lined with a plastic bearing material, such as Teflon or the like, to. promote sliding on the rails With this arrangement, each of the frames 42 and 43 can slide relative to itsslide member 49 on the rails 50, ,and its slide member 49 can slide relative to its cabinet side wall 15 or 16 in the tracks 48. Each of the frames 42 and 43 can be readily completely removed fromthe dishwasher by sliding the bracket jaws 54a and 54b free from the rails 50 on its slide member 49. The slide members v49 are sized so that they can be moved rearwardly into the enclosure '17 to an extent whereby the:

foremost edges of the frames '42 and 43 retracted within the enclosure 17.

As previously noted, the left .and right sections 40 and 41 are respectively removably mounted in the central opening 52in the base51'of the left and right frames 42 and 43 and means are provided for selectively positioning the rack sections 40 and 41 at various elevations relative to one another and to the lower rack 36. This elevation selection is made possible by the previously-noted jaw sets 54a and 54b on the frames 42 and 43 and by. the provision of complementary elevation positioning means on the rack sections 40 and 41 and their respective frames 42 and 43. In "the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1-4, these latter elevation positioning means include a pair of upwardly and rearwardly extending hooks 56 formed on the rear edge of the 'central opening 52 in each of the frames 42 and 43 and a pair of upwardly opening resilient clips 57 mounted on the front edge of the central opening 52 in each of the frames 42 and 43.

As best illustrated in FIGURE 3, each of the open framework upper rack sections 40 and 41 is provided with a pair of vertically spaced horizontal rods 58 and 59, respectively adjacent the top and bottom of its front and rear ends, which are selectively engageable in the hooks and clips 56 and 57. If it is desired to position one of the upper rack sections 40 or 41 at a higher elevation within the washing enclosure 17 (note the left upper rack section 40 in FIGURE 1), its bottom rods 59 are engaged in the complementary hooks 56 and clips 57 of its frame 42 or 43, when the rack section is mounted within the frame central opening. Alternatively, for positioning at a lower elevation (note the right upper rack section 41 in FIGURES l and 3), its upper rods 58 are so engaged.

FIGURE 5 illustrates another form of the present invention which is similar to that shown in FIGURES 1-4, except that the frames 42 and 43 are omitted and left and right upper rack sections 40 and 41' are directly removably slidably mounted to the rails 50 on the slide members 49 by the brackets 53 which are directly fastened by welding or other suitable means to the outer edges of the upper rack sections 40 and 41'. With the form of the present invention shown in FIGURE 5, the upper and lower jaw sets 54a and 54b on the brackets 53 comprise the means for varying the elevation of the upper rack sections 40 and 41 relative to one another and to the lower rack 36. As shown in FIGURE 5, the left rack section 40' is slidably mounted on the rails 50 of the slide member 49 of the left mounting means 44 by the lower set of bracket jaws 54b and is thus cantilevered from the enclosure left side wall at a higher elevation than the right upper rack section 41, which is mounted on the rails 50 of slide member 49 of the right mounting means 45 by the upper set of bracket jaws 54a.

By providing the above-described support means by which the upper rack sections 40 and 41 or 40' and 41' can be respectively cantilevered from the left and right enclosure side walls 15 and 16, the present invention obcan be fully upper. rack viates the need for inner support means such as those provided in our above-noted copending application in the area between the upper rack sections. Hence, as best shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, the area between the upper v rack sections 40 and 41 or 40' and 41' can be unobstructed and their elevation adjustment or removal facilitated.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the examples illustrated, and it is contemplated that various other modifications or applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In av dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of the side walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a lower rack positionable within the lower portion of the enclosure for substantially horizontal movement through the access opening;

(b) an upper rack positionable within the upper portion of the enclosure vertically spaced from said lower rack;

(c) said upper rack being split from front to rear into a left section and a right section; and

((1) support means in the enclosure for respectively cantilevering said left and right upper rack sections from the enclosure side walls at the left and right of the access opening for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of one another and of said lower rack.

2. The invention of claim 1, further including selectively engageable elevation positioning means on at least one of said upper rack sections and its support means for varying the elevation of said one of said upper rack sections relative to the other of said upper rack sections and said lower rack.

3. In a dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of the side walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a lower rack positionable within the lower portion of the enclosure for substantially horizontal movement through the access opening;

('b) an upper rack positionable within the upper portion of the enclosure vertically spaced from said lower rack;

(c) said upper rack being split from front to rear into a left section and a right section; and

((1) support means in the enclosure for respectively cantilevering said left and right upper rack sections from the enclosure side walls at the left and right of the access opening for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of one another and said lower rack;

(e) said support means including:

(i) a slide member slidable on track means mounted on one of the enclosure side walls for substantially horizontal sliding movement relative to the one enclosure side wall, and

(ii) means for removably cantilevering one of said upper rack sections selectively at a plurality of elevations on rail means provided on said slide member for substantially horizontal sliding movement relative to said slide member and through said access opening.

4. The invention of claim 3, wherein said means for removably cantilevering said one of said upper rack sections on said slide member includes:

(a) a centrally open frame for removably receiving said one of said upper rack sections;

(b) jaw means on said frame selectively slidably mountable on said rails at a plurality of elevations; and

(c) selectively engageable elevation positioning means on said one of said upper rack sections and said frame.

5. In a dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of the side walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to 'be positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a left rack section;

(b) a right rack section;

(c) support means in the enclosure for respectively cantilevering said rack sections from the enclosure side walls at the left and right of the access opening for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of one another; and

(d) selectively en-gageable elevation positioning means on at least one of said rack sections and its support means for varying the elevation of one of said rack sections relative to the other of said rack sections.

6. In a dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of the side Walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to be positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a left rack section;

(b) a right rack section; and

(c) a support means in the enclosure for respectively cantilevering said rack sections from the enclosure side Walls at the left and right of the access opening for substantially horizontal sliding movement through the access opening independently of one another, said support means including a centrally open frame for receiving at least one of said rack sections and mounting means on one of the enclosure side walls for mounting said frame for sliding movement through the access opening.

7. The invention of claim 6, wherein said frame is removable from its mounting means whereby it can be completely removed from the dishwasher.

8. The invention of claim 6, where said frame is mountable on its mounting means in at least two different positions whereby its elevation within the enclosure can be varied.

9. The invention of claim 6, further including selectively engageable elevation positioning means on said frame and on said one of said rack sections for varying the elevation of said one of said rack sections relative to the other of said sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,269,548 8/1966 Geiger et a1 31234l X 3,306,693 2/1967 Kautfman 3 123 11 3,311,072 3/ 1967 Pattison 3 12351 X 3,334,954 8/1967 Kesling 312330 JAMES T. McCALL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 312-311, 351 

